Laura Mazza, also known as “Mum on the Run” on Facebook, is the mother to two children, Sofia and Luca. With both girls so young, the stresses of raising them with her husband can get exceedingly difficult at times.

Adding to the frustrations of maneuvering through daily life, Mazza is very open about how she has struggled with anxiety and depression. Mazza has been seeing a psychologist, which has helped her mental health along with keeping her sane throughout the trials and tribulations of motherhood.

There is one particular visit that really stands out for Mazza.

In a Facebook post shared on January 21, Mazza explained how she was running late to her appointment and with no one available to look after Sofia and Luca, she had to bring them along. When she finally arrived, her children were screaming and not in the best of moods.

“This particular appointment I had no one to watch my children and came 25 minutes late with them both screaming as we walked in,” Mazza detailed in the post. “‘I’m sorry I’m late, I’m a terrible mess. I’m a bad mother. I can’t get my [stuff] together.’”

Mazza shares that she was so stressed she was ready to cry.

Sensing her worries, Mazza’s psychologist sat her down for a pep talk.

“She said, ‘You’re not a bad mother, you know how I can tell? Because of all the things you’ve just said,’” Mazza recalls her psychologist saying.

The psychologist then asked why she was late, to which Mazza explained her situation. She talked about how her kids had been fussy and how she wasn’t having the best day ever.

And then her psychologist started saying something that completely changed her perspective.

“She said ‘so rather than cancelling on today, you did the most hardest thing in the world for someone with anxiety and for someone with two young children, you got dressed, you dressed your two kids, you fed them, you brought them out of the house, and you came to an appointment because you want to better yourself for them,’” Mazza shared.

Mazza hadn’t thought of her situation like that.

Listening closely as her psychologist continued, Mazza hung onto every word she was saying.

“And then she leaned forward, and said, ‘and you know why I know you’re not a [bad] mother? Because you did all of that. And you do all of that every day. You put all of their needs first,’” the psychologist continued.

Her psychologist’s words really had an impact on Mazza, and compelled her to share the story. Having learned from the pep talk, she wanted to pass it along in the hopes that doing so may positively impact someone else’s day as well.

“So whenever you go anywhere, your kids are screaming, your clothes are stained, your eyes are bloodshot from being tired and you feel like you are a mess, remember THESE are all signs that you are mothering, and you are doing it damn right,” Mazza went on to proudly proclaim.